ME on Music Theory Print

Medieval folk rock

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Medieval folk rock is characterised by three major elements used in various combinations. First, the playing of extant early music involving rock instrumentation. Second, the creation of original music that incorporates compositional features of early music, such as use of musical modes beyond those now considered major and minor keys. Third, the incorporation of the sounds of early music into rock songs, through vocal techniques, the use of additional instruments that characterise early music, or the simulation of early music sounds on rock instruments (for example, the use of a drone sound on an electric guitar). A final element that does not affect the nature of the music, but often accompanies it, is the adoption of perceived elements of ‘medievalism’ in lyrics, actions, dress or artwork.

Medieval metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Precursors#

The medieval folk band Corvus Corax was formed in 1989 and released a debut album in the same year. The group relies on period instruments that include the cister, hurdy-gurdy, biniou, buccina, davul, riq and cornetto curvo with the most prominent being the shawm and bagpipes. They describe their approach as “louder, dirtier and more powerful than any interpretation of medieval music before.” The result has been associated more with medieval taverns and pubs rather than the royal courts or church. one of the inspirations for the genre is the English folk metal band Skyclad. Formed in 1990 as a thrash metal band, they added violins from session musician Mike Evans on several tracks from their debut album, The Wayward Sons of Mother Earth, with the song “The Widdershins Jig” was acclaimed as “particularly significant” and “a certain first in the realms of Metal”. The band added a full time violinist to their ranks and has since been credited not only as the originators and pioneers of folk metal but also as a direct inspiration for medieval metal bands.

Medieval music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Genres#

Medieval music was created for a number of different uses and contexts, resulting in different music genres. Liturgical as well as more general sacred contexts were important, but secular types emerged as well, including love songs and dances. During the earlier medieval period, liturgical music was monophonic chant; Gregorian chant became the dominant style. Polyphonic genres, in which multiple independent melodic lines are performed simultaneously, began to develop during the high medieval era, becoming prevalent by the later 13th and early 14th century. The development of polyphonic forms is often associated with the Ars antiqua style associated with Notre-Dame de Paris, but improvised polyphony around chant lines predated this. Organum, for example, elaborated on a chant melody by creating one or more accompanying lines. The accompanying line could be as simple as a second line sung in parallel intervals to the original chant (often a perfect fifth or perfect fourth away from the main melody). The principles of this kind of organum date back at least to an anonymous 9th century tract, the Musica enchiriadis, which describes the tradition of duplicating a preexisting plainchant in parallel motion at the interval of an octave, a fifth or a fourth. Some of the earliest written examples are in a style known as Aquitanian polyphony, but the largest body of surviving organum comes from the Notre-Dame school. This loose collection of repertory is often called the Magnus Liber Organi (Great Book of Organum). Related polyphonic genres included the motet and clausula genres, both also often built on an original segment of plainchant or as an elaboration on an organum passage. While most early motets were sacred and may have been liturgical (designed for use in a church service), by the end of the thirteenth century the genre had expanded to include secular topics, such as political satire and courtly love, and French as well as Latin texts. They also included from one to three upper voices, each with its own text. In Italy, the secular genre of the Madrigal became popular. Similar to the polyphonic character of the motet, madrigals featured greater fluidity and motion in the leading melody. The madrigal form also gave rise to polyphonic canons (songs in which multiple singers sing the same melody, but starting at different times), especially in Italy where they were called caccie. These were three-part secular pieces, which featured the two higher voices in canon, with an underlying instrumental long-note accompaniment. In the late middle ages, some purely instrumental music also began to be notated, though this remained rare. Dance music makes up most of the surviving instrumental music, and includes types such as the estampie, ductia, and nota.

Međimurska popevka

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Description#

Međimurska popevka is a form of folksinging widespread throughout the northern part of Croatia bordering Slovenia and Hungary. It has historically been performed by solo female vocalists, although in modern times it is performed both individual and in groups, and both men and women. The songs can be performed in vocal, vocal instrumental, or instrumental as well as monophonic/multipart renditions, as musical genre, or incorporated into dance. Popevka commonly takes place in social and community gatherings, such as weddings, religious gatherings, annual holidays, and in modern times, folk festivals.

Meditation music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Modern meditation music in the 20th century began when composers such as John Cage, Stuart Dempster, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, La Monte Young and Lawrence Ball began to combine meditation techniques and concepts, and music. Specific works include Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Hymnen (1966–67), Stimmung (1968), Aus den sieben Tagen (1968), Mantra (1970) and Inori (1974). Ben Johnston’s Visions and Spells, a realization of Vigil (1976), requires a meditation period prior to performance. R. Murray Schafer’s concepts of “clairaudience” (clean hearing) as well as those found in his The Tuning of the World (1977) are meditative. John Cage was influenced by Zen, and pieces such as Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (1951) for twelve radios are “meditations that measure the passing of time”. Stockhausen describes Aus den sieben Tagen as “intuitive music”, and in the piece Es from this cycle the performers are instructed to play only when not thinking or in a state of non-thinking (Von Gunden asserts that this is contradictory and should be “while not thinking about your playing”). In the 21st century, Georges Lentz’ vast and immersive composition String Quartet(s) (2000-2023), permanently projected in the Cobar Sound Chapel in the Australian desert and influenced by the starry night sky, also contains many meditative aspects .

Medway scene

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Of Medway musicians, the best known is Billy Childish (from Chatham) who formed punk band the Pop Rivets in the late 1970s, and later formed the Milkshakes, Thee Mighty Caesars, Thee Headcoats, the Buff Medways, the Musicians of the British Empire and the Chatham Singers, among others. His inspiration has led to many other bands forming who now have a worldwide cult following. Other notable bands include the Prisoners, the Dentists, the Claim and Thee Headcoatees. The music often draws heavily on the tradition of garage/punk/rock’n roll/raw-blues music from the 1950s and 1960s, hence references to the “Medway Delta”. Records have been released on Big Beat, Media Burn and other small indie labels, as well as Childish’s own Hangman Records and Hangman’s Daughter, and latterly Damaged Goods Records.

Megamusical

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Megamusicals are known for their grand scale. They tend to be set in the distant past and cover broad, universal issues (usually concerning social justice) that global audiences can relate to. The plot is generally melodramatic, ambitious in scope, but not the focus of the show. Instead, a megamusical’s priority is a visual spectacle, with ample attention given to visual elements like extravagant set and costumes, complex and technologically advanced stagecraft, and large casts that allow for big ensemble numbers with elaborate choreography. The scores for megamusicals are also grand, consisting of pop-influenced catchy songs, power ballads, lush harmonies and lavish orchestrations. Similar to operetta, this genre relies on the “continuous musicalization of dramatic action”, Megamusicals have huge budgets and their non-artistic elements tend to be large as well. They are heavily publicized and the marketing for a megamusical is very intense and costly. Another key element of this form is its commercial appeal: whether or not the musical will be a hit at the box office. Generally, a megamusical is expected to be a massive financial success, but not necessarily a critical success. Once his musicals became famous and were being licensed all over the world, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber vowed to keep a very tight grip on them and would get the final say on all productions regardless of the production team. This led to a strict level of standardization across the global productions of megamusicals that did not exist in live theatre before. This genre of musical theatre has been derogatorily referred to as “McTheatre”, comparatively alluding to the standardization of fast food chain McDonald’s products as well as its size and global reach. A musical need not contain all of these elements to be regarded as a megamusical. Many of these features were established by the influential megamusicals of the 1980s, but the genre has since evolved. As such, consideration has to be given to the musical itself as well as the context surrounding it.

Melodic death metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Melodic death metal combines death metal with elements of traditional heavy metal ranging as far as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, especially melodic or harmonized guitar riffs, with the heavily distorted guitars, fast double-bass drum patterns and occasional blast beats of death metal. Alternative Press Magazine describes the style as “incorporat ing stylistically ‘pretty’ and epic sounds” into the death metal formula, augmented by “blazing” guitar solos and “buzz-saw”-like guitar tones. The vocal style typically features harsh screams or low-pitched growling (similar to traditional death metal) but often features clean sung vocals as well. Melodic death metal is said to be more musically diverse than traditional death metal. According to Vlad Nichols of Ultimate Guitar, the boundaries of melodic death metal " grant much more artistic freedom" to artists as opposed to traditional death metal, and enables enjoyment of death metal sounds by a wider audience. He assessed, “the heaviness was still there, but it was now made all the more enjoyable by the diversity of musical and thematic expression it provided.” Some melodic death metal bands fuse the style with other styles of heavy metal and extreme metal. For example, Finnish band Children of Bodom is known for incorporating strong elements of power metal into their style.

Melodic hardcore

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Melodic hardcore differentiates itself from standard hardcore punk by incorporating melodic elements such as guitar harmonies, riffs using octave chords, as well as playing the notes of a chord individually in succession, rather than all at once. Bands in the genre also have a tendency to take influence from a range of genres including emo, post-punk, screamo, pop-punk, metalcore, post-rock and gothic rock. Many melodic hardcore bands put a greater emphasis on lyrical intellectualism than bands in other styles of hardcore. This manifested through politics in the case of bands like Strike Anywhere, and dark, poetic lyrics in the case of bands like American Nightmare and Dead Swans. Concept albums are also common amongst groups including the Carrier and Defeater. According to Brooklyn Vegan writer Andrew Sacher, “melodic hardcore is not an easy thing to define”, due to it encompassing a variety of disparate sounds including the early pop-punk of Descendents, emo of Dag Nasty, skate punk of NOFX, and heavy, nihilistic but tuneful hardcore punk bands like Modern Life Is War and the Hope Conspiracy. In his two articles on the topic, he differentiated between the heavy and nihilistic style based in modern hardcore that he labeled as simply “melodic hardcore” and the more traditional, punk-based “melodic punk” style “that ties together Against Me! to Hot Water Music to Strike Anywhere to the Lawrence Arms”. PopMatters writer Ethan Stewart instead suggested that melodic hardcore “as we know it today” began with late 1980s bands like Inside Out and Turning Point who merged youth crew hardcore with emo and tough guy hardcore, due to their influence upon much of the subsequent acts in the genre.

Melodic metalcore

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

In the late 1990s, a wave of metalcore bands began incorporating elements of melodic death metal into their sound. This formed an early version of what would become the melodic metalcore genre. The first band to make use of this fusion was Overcast, who were soon followed by Shadows Fall on Somber Eyes to the Sky (1997), Undying on This Day All Gods Die (1999), Darkest Hour on The Prophecy Fulfilled (1999), Unearth on Above the Fall of Man (1999) and Prayer for Cleansing on Rain in Endless Fall (1999). CMJ writer Anthony Delia also credited Florida’s Poison the Well and their first two releases The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation (1999) and Tear from the Red (2002) as “design ing the template for most of” the melodic metalcore bands to come. Killswitch Engage have also been called a pioneering force in the genre by publications such as Revolver, along with artists such as 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Chimaira, Dead to Fall and Heaven Shall Burn. Belgian groups also played a large part in the development of the genre in its early years, as bands such as Arkangel began embracing the sounds of melodic death metal in their traditional metalcore sound, as early as 1998.

Mélodie

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Nature#

The mélodie is often defined by comparison with the lied. Pierre Bernac provides this comparison in The Interpretation of French Song: Debussy goes on to write that ‘clarity of expression, precision and concentration of form are qualities peculiar to the French genius.’ These qualities are indeed most noticeable when again compared with the German genius, excelling as it does in long, uninhibited outpourings, directly opposed to the French taste, which abhors overstatement and venerates concision and diversity. Bernac writes that “the art of the greatest French composers is an art of suggestion”, rather than explicit statement of feelings. The mélodie is noted for its deliberate and close relationship between text and melody. To compose or interpret mélodies, one must have a sensitive knowledge of the French language, French poetry, and French poetic diction. Numerous books have been written about the details of French pronunciation specifically for mélodie singers, often featuring IPA transcriptions of songs with further notations for French-specific features like liaison and elision.

Memphis blues

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

In addition to guitar-based blues, jug bands, such as Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers and the Memphis Jug Band, were extremely popular practitioners of Memphis blues. The jug band style emphasized the danceable, syncopated rhythms of early jazz and a range of other folk styles. It was played on simple, sometimes homemade, instruments such as harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, guimbarde and jugs blown to supply the bass. After World War II, as African Americans left the Mississippi Delta and other impoverished areas of the South for urban areas, many musicians gravitated to the blues scene in Memphis, changing the classic Memphis blues sound. Musicians such as Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Nix, Ike Turner, and B. B. King performed on Beale Street and in West Memphis and recorded some of the classic electric blues, rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll records for labels such as Sam Phillips’s Sun Records. Sun recorded Howlin’ Wolf (before he moved to Chicago), Willie Nix, Ike Turner, B. B. King and others. Electric Memphis blues featured “explosive, distorted electric guitar work, thunderous drumming, and fierce, declamatory vocals.” Musicians associated with Sun Records included Joe Hill Louis, Willie Johnson and Pat Hare.

Memphis rap

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Memphis rap has been characterized as being low budget, using repetitive vocal hooks and a “distorted”, that uses the Roland TR-808 drum machine and minimal synth melodies. The genre commonly features double time flows with triplet flows, Because of the lack of resources, bedroom studios were often pushed to the extreme. Usually, the lyrics are quite dark and depict graphic subject matter. DJ Spanish Fly had introduced the synthetic drum-kit sound with the TR-808, splitting the Memphis scene in two between those who preferred the live versus the digital sound. Alongside a strong drum beat were “cowbell, syncopated rhythms, powerful sub-bass, and sharp digital snares”, these elements becoming the hallmarks of the Memphis rap sound. Looping is also a signature with no steadfast rule, although looping is used over chopped edits. Memphis rap has been cited as an influence on the development of Phonk, a subgenre that draws on its sampling practices and sonic aesthetic. Memphis artists released recordings on independent labels. The dominance of New York and Los Angeles’s hip hop scenes forced southern artists to form an underground style and sound to compete with the other regions. Artists used a grassroots approach through word-of-mouth in the club scene and mixtapes to promote their music. Independent cassette circulation networks became an important part of preserving and distributing Memphis underground rap throughout the region. Memphis rap artists often relied on independent methods of production and distribution, including the use of cassette tapes shared through local networks. Oral history and archival preservation projects, including documentation from the Memphis Public Library, have preserved accounts from artists associated with the Memphis rap underground scene such as The Scandalous Playaz, helping document the regional cassette-era culture surrounding independent Memphis rap distribution.

Memphis soul

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Overview/Memphis Soul#

Soul music is an emotional genre that began by expression of the struggles within the African American community. Soul is similar to genres like Motown or Rhythm and Blues but is unique because of its tonality and origin. Memphis musicians Willie Mitchell and Al Green collaborated to produce the basic sound of all soul music to emerge from Memphis. To this day, the entire genre of Memphis soul music is in accordance with their perfected sound of the 70s.

Mento

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

Mento is a distinct acoustic style of traditional or folk music, which orginated in Jamaica during the 19th century. Enslaved musicians were occasionally required to play music singing European folk songs, which had a significant influence on the development of mento. Some of Jamaica’s oldest cultural traditions and dance forms including jonkunnu, quadrille, burru and Maypole, which emerged during slavery and post-emancipation, feature mento music. By the late 1800s and early 1900s, mento had become a clearly recognizable Jamaican folk style and had consolidated as a genre, Noted ethnomusicologist, Dr. Daniel T. Neely, described mento as: According to former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, who had researched Jamaica’s folk music extensively:

Merengue music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The origins of the music are traced to the land of El Cibao, where merengue cibaeño and merengue típico are the terms most musicians use to refer to classical merengue. The word Cibao was a native name for the island, although the Spanish used it in their conquest to refer to a specific part of the island, the highest mountainous range. The term merengue cibaeño is therefore partially native and so merengue might also be a derivation of a native word related to song, music, dance, or festival. Merengue was first mentioned in the mid-19th century with the earliest documented evidence being newspaper articles. Some of the articles inform about a “lascivious” dance, and also highlight merengue displacing the Tumba. The genre had originated within the rural, northern valley region around the city of Santiago called the Cibao. It later spread throughout the country and became popular among the urban population. The oldest form of merengue was typically played on string instruments. When the accordion came to the island in the 1880s, introduced by German traders, it quickly became the primary instrument, and to this day is still the instrument of choice in merengue típico. Later, the piano and brass instruments were introduced to the genre.

Merengue típico

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Early origins#

Merengue first appears in the Caribbean in the 1850s. The earliest documented evidence of merengue in the Dominican Republic are newspaper articles complaining about this “lascivious” dance displacement of the earlier tumba. Early merengue was played on stringed instruments, but the accordion came to the island in the 1880s, introduced by German traders, and quickly became the primary instrument in merengue. Up until the 1930s, the music was considered immoral. Its more descriptive and colorful name, perico ripia’o (literally “ripped parrot” in Spanish) is said to have been the name of a bordello in Santiago where the music was played. Moralists tried to ban the music and the provocative dance that accompanied it, but with little success. Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo brought accordionists with him on the campaign trail, and once he took power, he ensured that merengue was embraced as a national music by all classes of Dominicans.

Merenhouse

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Early development in the 1980s and the 1990s#

The hybrid music known as Merenrap, Merenhouse, or Latin house was formed in the 1980s in New York City. Jorge Oquendo, an entrepreneur, encouraged artists to blend these genres. Lisa M mixed merengue with hip hop/rap in her second album released in 1990. Latin house, in turn, combines house, rap, Latin rhythms and Caribbean music.

Dominican migration to New York City in late twentieth century#

Dominican Merengue can be considered an expression of Dominican transnationalism, as there was a significant shift in the migration of Dominicans to New York in the twentieth century. As a musical hybrid, merenhouse was popular with a generation of bicultural youth growing up in New York with Dominican roots that combined both aspects of their culture. Merenhouse is also a symbol of national identity to Dominican Americans. The early 1990s saw a huge increase in immigration to the United States from the Dominican Republic due largely to the greatly deteriorating economic situation of the Dominican Republic in the 1980s and early 1990s. New York City saw the bulk of this initial Dominican population growth, and once those first Dominican immigrates got settled in, New York became the hub of Dominican culture in the US. “By 1990, an estimated 900,000 Dominicans — 12 percent of the country’s population — lived in New York City alone”. Dominicans also “tend to be more concentrated residing exclusively in barrios or ghettos like Washington Heights, Manhattan-Inwood, home to 59% of Dominicans registered by the INS”. This potent concentration of Dominicans all in one place allowed them to bring in their own culture while they assimilated into the melting pot of cultures found in New York. Merengue is one example of the many pieces of Dominican culture brought during this period of immigration, which was a key element to the creation of Merenhouse.

Méringue

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Méringue was heavily influenced by the contredanse from Europe and then by Afro-Caribbean influences from Hispaniola. The blend of African and European cultures has created popular dance music, music played on simple acoustic instruments by artists who don’t need theaters or microphones to show off their art. The term meringue, a whipped egg and sugar confection popular in eighteenth-century France, was adopted presumably because it captured the essence of the light nature of the dance where one gracefully shifts one’s weight between feet in a very fluid movement, animating the final section of the Haitian kontradans. It is said that the carabinier, a dance from Haiti originating back to the time of the Haitian Revolution, combined European dances accompanied by Kongo influences, deriving from a section of kontradans and is said to have evolved into the méringue. However, like almost all Latin American dances, the méringue can trace its origins back to the contredanse; the French dance that was hugely popular in Europe and the creolization of it by the use of the drums, poetic song, antiphonal song form, and imitations of colonial elite dance elements by the mulattos and the black slaves that had already begun to transform the genre.

Metal Mass

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The concept of Metal Mass was thought up by five metal fans, three of whom worked at a church (pastors Haka Kekäläinen and Jukka Valkama and youth worker Mikko Saari) and the other two being musicians (Markus Korri and Juhani Palttala), after a 2005 seminar on the relationship of Church and heavy metal music. They gathered a team for service and began working on arrangements. The first Metal Mass was held around the time of the annual Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, June 29, 2006, in Temppeliaukio Church. Taage Laiho of the hard rock band Kilpi, was the lead singer in that Metal Mass. The service was reportedly a success, with 300 people being left out because of safety reasons. On August 26, 2008, the Metallimessu album was released, and the songs and interludes follow the pattern of the service. On the album, guest vocalists for the hymns include Taage Laiho (Kilpi), Ville Tuomi (Suburban Tribe), Tanja (Lullacry), Tuomas Nieminen (Adamantra), Juhani Muhonen (Sorrowind) and Heikki Pöyhiä (Twilightning).

Metalcore

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The term “metalcore” is a portmanteau of the words “metal” and “hardcore”, and was originally tongue-in-cheek. During the 1980s, Maximumrocknroll had used early variations of the term, referring to Richmond band Black Pyramid as “heavy-metal core” in February 1985; Oxnard band False Confessions as “metal-core” in December 1985; Mesa band Desecration as “death metal core” in May 1986; and Austin band Last Will as “ghoulish metal/core” in December 1986. Phillip Trapp of Loudwire states that Shai Hulud guitarist Matt Fox is widely credited for playing a role in “popularizing” the term. However, in a 2008 interview, Fox claimed the term had already been in use before his band began releasing music. He recalled: “There were bands before Shai Hulud started that my friends and I were referring to as ‘metalcore.’ Bands like Burn, Deadguy, Earth Crisis, even Integrity. These bands that were heavier than the average hardcore bands. These bands that were more progressive … my friends and I would always refer to them as ‘metalcore’ because it wasn’t purely hardcore and it wasn’t purely metal … so we would joke around and say, ‘Hey, it’s metalcore. Cool!’ But it was definitely a tongue-in-cheek term.” Alternatively, Jorge Rosado of Merauder claimed in a 2014 interview that he and his band coined the term. Luke Morton of Metal Hammer stated that the word “means different things to different people,” highlighting the fact that the tag has been variously applied to stylistically dissimilar bands such as Killswitch Engage, Earth Crisis, Asking Alexandria and Parkway Drive.

Métis fiddle

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Cultural Significance#

The Métis are an Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island who trace their descent to mixed European and First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union; within generations, however, the culture coalesced into what is today a distinct Indigenous group with formal recognition equal to that of the Inuit and First Nations. Mothers were often Cree, Ojibwa, Denesuline or Saulteaux . At one time, distinctions were made between French Métis (born of francophone voyageur fathers) and Anglo Métis (or “Countryborn”), descended from Scottish fathers. Today, these two cultures form a single Métis culture. The fiddle has become a key feature of Metis identity through the cultural prominence of jigging and social fiddling. Originating from the Red River Region, The metis have a notion of Miziksharing, or understanding music as sharing, which informs the social aspects of this community. In this way, Metis fiddle performance allows for the connection of two kinds of sociability that might initially appear to be quite distinct, “musical closeness and interactions between strangers.” Fiddle music is often performed at cultural folk festivals outside of their more intimate community role, where the music draws people together through a “collective identification with Metis heritage.” These public performances outside of the sphere of the community are not without controversy, though. With the introduction of Metis-style fiddle competitions, in which competitors are to demonstrate “authenticity” perform without accompaniment and clog while seated, many argue that the Metis tradition is being constrained and held back from innovating. In addition, the Metis-style competitions are offered significantly less prize money; at the Manitoba Open, competitors sought $100 compared to the $400 offered for the top prize in other old-time styles. These competitions are furthermore problematic for allowing individuals to interact with the Metis culture in one specific way, thus avoiding interacting with the indigenous community of Metis people native to Canada.

Mexican cumbia

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The cumbia has its origins in Colombia going back at least as far as the early 1800s, with elements from indigenous and black music traditions. In the 1940s, Colombian singer Luis Carlos Meyer emigrated to Mexico, where he worked with Mexican orchestra director Rafael de Paz. In the 1950s, he recorded what many believe to be the first cumbia recorded outside of Colombia, “El gallo Tuerto y La Cumbia Cienaguera”. He recorded other hits like “La historia”. Thus Cumbia gained popularity in Mexico. In the 1970s Aniceto Molina also emigrated to Mexico, where he joined the group from Guerrero, La Luz Roja de San Marcos, and recorded many popular tropical cumbia songs like “El Gallo Mojado”, “El Peluquero”, and “La Mariscada”. In the 1970s, Rigo Tovar enjoyed success with his fusion of cumbia music with ballads and rock.

Mexican hip-hop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The first Mexican rap record started since 1979 by the comedian Guillermo Ríos aka Memo Ríos under his stage name MC Aplausos rapping Sugarhill Gang “Rappers Delight” instrumental on his adaptations “El Cotorreo”. Memo Ríos was not expect that many years later Mexicans started to rap and had success, it was a coincidence and a mistake he stated himself on a video in 2023 talking about his story on how it become the first Mexican rap song in history. The background of the first Mexican rap song started by what he does in his comedian shows by having topics like the daily life in México, Mexican’s attitude, Mexican pop culture and celebrities with their slangs and sense of humor, there was no inspiration on the hip-hop culture or any other kind. Memo’s friend Elias Cervantes was a director of the radio station Radio Variedades along with Cervantes friends had great relationships with the radio stations, borrows the Rappers Delight record to Memo. Memo was thinking too much to make his Spanish Rappers Delight version, he took three days to write his lyrics, he went to record his song on the studio Orbimex which was a small record studio that made it possible to record the first Mexican rap song ever made. After he recorded his first rap song, Memo continued to record more rap parody songs such as “Pedro Infante Murió”, “Muy Delgada” (Vanilla Ice: Ice, Ice Baby parody), “Memotronic” (Technotronic: This Beat is Technotronic parody), “Cosa Loca” (The Troggs: Wild Thing parody) and “Mi Bella Genio” (Dimples D: Sucker DJ (A Witch For Love) parody) in the early 1990s. After 33 years of Mexican Hip-Hop, in 2023 Spotify started to make a mural based on their playlist “50 Años de Hip-Hop Mexicano” in Mexico City that locates on Avenida Chapultepec 68 street on the Doctores neighborhood for celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop, curated by Toy Selectah by selecting the best hits from old school rap thru the new school rap. Memo Ríos appears on the mural that is the only one that doesn’t have his music catalog on Spotify along with Control Machete, Cartel de Santa, Akwid, Alemán, Gera MX, Santa Fe Klan, MC Davo, Snow Tha Product, , Lefty SM & among others. The hip-hop movement started since 1991 by groups as Sindicato del Terror (SDT) & 4to Del Tren both from State of Mexico, in 1996 is the beginning of reached with the emergence of the group from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Control Machete were the first hip-hop group to make rap genre mainstream successful by promoting their music videos on MTV. Control Machete were the first hip-hop group to earn money with music, to sign massive record deal contract such as Universal Music Group & Polygram, having tours on Latin America, United States, Spain & Germany & having the exact rap production formula as the American hip-hop industry standards. It has evolved to spanning more artists like Cartel de Santa, Dharius, Akwid, Kinto Sol, Alemán, Gera MX, Dyablo, Aczino, and many more.

Mexican pop music

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

1970s and 1980s#

On September 13, 1969, Televisa, a Mexican company and the world’s largest Spanish-language television network launched the variety show Siempre en Domingo (Always on Sundays) hosted by Raúl Velasco. Siempre en Domingo became one of the most popular TV shows in Latin America with about 420 million television viewers around the world (according to Televisa and their partners). Siempre en Domingo was a TV show where many artists performed and debuted. At the time, an appearance was a hallmark of success and performers considered an appearance on the program as a guarantee of stardom similar to The Ed Sullivan Show in the United States. Velasco encouraged many Mexican singers such as Lucía Méndez, Lucero, Emmanuel, Mijares, Gloria Trevi, Timbiriche, and Lorenzo Antonio, and helped many of these to become full-fledged stars within the county. Moreover, Velasco presented foreign artists such as Julio Iglesias, Raphael, Miguel Bosé, Chayanne and Ricky Martin. Artists that would bring pop music to Latin America, were, in part by Siempre en Domingo, helped in that effort thanks for their appearances in the program. In 1970 Jose Jose jumped to fame when he sang “El Triste” at the Festival de la Canción Latina. He didn’t win the prestigious singing contest but his performance was so memorable that fans across Latin America considered him the actual winner. The romantic balada, which gained popularity in the 1970s, continued to dominate the Latin music charts in the 1980s. Veteran balladeers who continued to be popular in this decade include Julio Iglesias, José José, Roberto Carlos, and Juan Gabriel. The Latin balada is characterized by its bolero origin by fusing music from the United States with pop, R&B, and rock. Female balada singers that became topped the Latin music charts includes Ana Gabriel, Daniela Romo, Rocío Dúrcal, Gloria Estefan, and Marisela. Notably, several baladas were Spanish-language covers of songs originally performed in Italian. Notable Spanish-language covers of Italian songs include “Maldita primavera” by Yuri, “Toda la Vida” by Emmanuel, “Yo No Te Pido la Luna” by Daniela Romo, and “Tan Enamorados” by Ricardo Montaner. The 1980s gave rise to the teenage groups Menudo, Timbiriche, and Los Chicos, as well as emerging teenage stars such as Luis Miguel and Alejandra Ávalos. By 1988, however, the aforementioned Luis Miguel would transform into an adult superstar at age 18 with the hit La Incondicional (1989). Not too far behind was former Los Chicos’ member Chayanne as he became a leading pop star by the end of the decade, with his 1987 hit Fiesta en America. As young stars begin to rise in Latin music, veterans such as Julio Iglesias, José José, Juan Gabriel, and José Luis Rodríguez El Puma continue their dominance in Latin music. Tejano Music starts to give little rise after Mazz crosses over to Mexico after their albums Una Noche Juntos and No Te Olvidare win Grammys. Aside from the baladas, several Latin pop artists and bands performed variety of Spanish-language pop and dance music targeted to the younger audience. These include Yuri, Marisela, Mecano, Miguel Bosé, Timbiriche, Menudo, and Flans. “Que Te Pasa” became the longest-running chart of the 1980s, spending 16 weeks on top of the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. Juan Gabriel and Rocío Dúrcal collaborated with Chuck Anderson to incorporate mariachi arrangements on their ballads. Child pop singers such as Luis Miguel, Pedrito Fernández, and Lucerito had a prepubescent following. During the 1980s songwriters like Guillermo Méndez Guiú, Rafael Pérez Botija or Aureo Baqueiro wrote songs for singers like Yuri, Lucía Méndez and musical groups like Timbiriche, Flans and Fandango. These groups headed the radio charts in Mexico and launched international career by promoting their music in Latin America. Other pop music icons in Mexico during the 1980s include José María Napoleón, Magneto, Dulce, Franco de Vita, Juan Luis Guerra, Isabel Pantoja, Ana Torroja and Rocío Dúrcal. Although not all of these singers are from Mexico. The most well-known Mexican singer of the 1970s and 1980s was José José. Known as “El Principe de La Cancion” (The Prince of the Song), he is recognizable for his romantic ballads and gifted vocals. José José has sold over 100 million albums in his career and became a huge influence to very popular singers like: Cristian Castro, Vicente Fernández, Alejandro Fernández, Pepe Aguilar, Manuel Mijares, Lupita D’Alessio, Reyli, and Nelson Ned. When Thalía became part of Timbiriche in the 1980s, tension with Paulina a group member became instantaneous and the rivalry to monopolize the lead role was warming the atmosphere and culminated at a point in which they ended up graving each other’s hairs on stage. Thalia and Paulina have frequently garnered comparisons ever since, even after the two directed their solo career. In which the media sets them up, competing for the title of Latin pop queen. Similar to the comparison between Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears in the American market who also both started as group membership at The Mickey Mouse Club. In the 1980s, the regional music scene in both Mexico and the Mexican American community in the United States was dominated by grupera. This style of Mexican music combines cumbia, norteño, and rock music. Norteño band Los Tigres del Norte continued their success from the 1970s with their corridos involving social commentary such as “Jaula de oro” (“The Golden Cage”) which tells of a Mexican man who crosses the Mexico-United States border illegally and raises a family in the United States who denies their Mexican heritage while the man longs to return to his country. Its parent album reached number one on the Regional Mexican charts in the United States. Similarly, Mexican singer-songwriter Joan Sebastian incorporated sounds of rancheras and ballads on his songs and was dubbed “El Rey del Jaripeo” (“The King of Mexican Rodeo”). Vicente Fernández and Ranchera music still remain relevant in the 1980s. His album, Por Tu Maldito Amor (1989), became the longest running number one Regional Mexican album of the decade in the United States with 21 weeks consecutive weeks at this position. American singer Linda Ronstadt, who is of Mexican descent, released Canciones de Mi Padre, a collection of songs that her father would sing. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA for shipping over two million copies in the United States. In 1985 Sheena Easton and Luis Miguel wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Performance for “Me Gustas Tal Como Eres”. Eugenia León, representing Mexico, wins the with her song “El Fandango Aquí” in 1986 Vikki Carr wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican/Mexican-American Performance for Simplemente Mujer.

Meykhana

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The name of this genre comes from the traditional Persian meykhane (tavern, pub), which itself originated from the Persian word mey (wine) and khane (house). The professional performers of meykhana are known as the Söz Ustadı (Word Masters) in Azerbaijani, also called as the meykhana masters.

Soviet pressure (1940–1991)#

Meykhana was performed among the youth of Baku settlements in the pre-Revolutionary time. Although during the Soviet period meykhana was banned, the poetry of Aliagha Vahid was often rhymed as a contemporary meykhana. This could be related to the meykhana’s popularity among the residents of Baku and Absheron regions.